HTC’s Revenues Improve by 23% in April, Q2 Outlook Positive

The new HTC One will be critical to HTC as it tries to earn back lost revenue and stage a much-needed comeback within the smartphone industry. Despite experiencing a 98% dip in net profit and generating significantly less Q1 revenue compared to the same period a year ago, the Taiwan-based company, like several market observers, appears confident that the tide will eventually turn in its favor by the end of Q2.

Looking closely at the events transpiring up to now, the financial woes experienced by HTC in the March quarter are clearly not just driven by a single factor: Component shortages, Samsung’s unstoppable momentum, and HTC’s relatively weak marketing/promotional efforts are just a few of the many key issues that are known to have held HTC back in the previous quarters. As recently pointed out by Gigaom and Technews, the Taiwanese company’s questionable investments in technologies such as Beats Audio and the general weariness resulting from the previous patent wars also played a crucial role in hindering HTC’s overall market momentum.

Fortunately for HTC, positive developments are beginning to take place throughout Q2; the HTC One component shortage issue has reportedly been attended to and solved, and in April, HTC managed to generate roughly $US 645 million in revenue. The figure is 36.9% less than what was earned in April 2012, but still represents a 23% increase from Q1. (Considering the record financial lows experienced by the company a number of quarters back, any revenue gain will likely come off as positive sign for HTC.)

HTC CEO Peter Chou is expecting smartphone sales to continue improving in May and June, and believes Q2 revenues will fall at somewhere around $US 2.4 Billion. While the total smartphone sales would have to increase by at least 50% for such goal to be realized, the scenario is not unlikely given the popularity and hype that are already surrounding the company’s new flagship phone.